United and JetBlue at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Photo Credit: THE SANGSTER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The government is to reopen the country’s ports for entry for the repatriation of Jamaicans on Monday and to international travellers on June 15.
The announcement was made to tourism stakeholders in a letter signed by Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett.
This comes as Jamaicans head back to work on Monday and various agencies of the state resume operations on a phased basis.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton reminded Jamaicans that it is now more important than ever for everyone to remain “vigilant in their infection prevention and control measures to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
“Everyone must understand that as more persons return from overseas, our numbers of positive cases will go up and there will be increased likelihood of spread at the community level. We can however, stop the spread if we apply the measures of physical distancing and personal and environmental hygiene.”
Tufton also reminded the public that the oubreak is not over and everyone must persist in measures such as staying at home, avoiding crowds, maintaining a physucal distance of six feet from each other , frequently washing and sanitising hands and cleaning surfaces where droplets may fall.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has recorded six more cases of the coronavirus, bringing the country’s tally to 581.
The Ministry of Health says two of the new cases are men who recently returned to the island under the government’s controlled re-entry programme.
A 75 year old woman from the central parish of St Catherine is also among the six new cases.
There are now 84 imported cases.
The Health Ministry says its testing numbers are now up to 12,389 with 11,758 persons testing negative.
To date, there have been nine deaths.
